Gate of the Kingdom
by Nehm
Summary: It's been seven months since Sora and Riku defeated the Organization.  Now, a letter from King Mickey warns of a new threat, one that Sora and Riku never expected, and an old enemy they thought was defeated.
1. The Letter

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or the characters from it. **

**Summary: It's been seven months since Sora and Riku defeated the Organization. Now, a letter from King Mickey warns of a new threat, one that Sora and Riku never expected, and an old enemy they thought was defeated.**

**Rating: T-violence, language, some mild sexual stuff too**

**Warnings: There is yaoi in this fic ((boyxboy love)) it's not overly prominent, but if you're really bothered by it, don't read.**

**R&R please **

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"Riku!"

…_Just ignore it, it'll go away…_

"Riku! Riku wake up!"

A foot nudged his side several times and Riku unwillingly opened his eyes, bringing up one hand to shield them from the bright sunlight overhead. He could see the blurry outline of a person bending over him; their spiky mess of hair made the identity obvious.

"Sora? What the-" he shoved the other's foot away from his side and sat up, blinking away the grogginess that lingered in his eyes.

"And you say _I'm _the lazy one," Sora put his hands behind his head and flashed a big grin. "So much for _that_ theory."

Riku raised a brow, "theory? I've got ten years of proof behind me. You just happened to walk by at the right time on 'one' day." Still, Riku found himself returning the grin; Sora just seemed to have that affect on him, always happy and positive.

Sora's hands fell to his sides, the grin morphing into a pout. "Always gotta have the last word, don't you Riku."

"You know it," Riku smirked. "You're just too predictable Sora." In an instant, Riku had grabbed onto Sora's legs and pulled him down into the sand.

"Bleh! Riku!" Sora spat out a few hunks of sand. "What did you-"

Riku grabbed him around the waist, but Sora was ready this time. He rolled to the side, forcing Riku to relinquish his hold. He grabbed the older boy's shoulders and pinned him on his back, legs straddling Riku's thighs.

Riku looked slightly surprised for a moment, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Slowly, a grin spread across his face as he burst out laughing. Sora looked at him quizzically a moment before he too caught the humor and started laughing as well. It was times like these the friends could treasure, laughing simply for the sake of laughing and being in each other's company.

"Wow," Riku stopped for a breath, "I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that!"

"Ya?" Sora's smile widened, "guess seven months hasn't made me any less talented." He raised an arm and flexed non-existent muscles.

Riku smirked skeptically but was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Do you two even _realize_ the position you're in?"

Both boys turned to see Kairi standing a few feet away, her hands propped on her knees as she leaned forward to study them. She grinned and laughed slightly, "let's try to keep it PG, shall we boys?" She smirked, "or is my suspicion correct and you two are really madly in love," she placed her hands over her heart dramatically.

Sora looked down at Riku; their eyes met and color rushed into their faces. Neither moved for a few moments.

Riku broke the silence, standing up quickly, dumping Sora unceremoniously headfirst in the sand. "Are you implying something Kairi?" He smirked, "we were wrestling," he held out an arm, showing the toned muscles beneath the skin. "You know, guy stuff."

"Guy stuff? Really?" Kairi's grin only grew as she pointed to Sora who was dusting himself off, brow knitted in concentration. His face was still a nice hue of pink. "Sora's blush says differently," she giggled.

"Huh?!" Sora looked up quickly, "I am 'not' blushing! I don't blush!"

"Then you must have a pretty prominent sunburn," Riku smirked. "Makes it even worse when someone mentions it, doesn't it Sora. Then you start thinking _everyone_ notices." Riku laughed and Sora felt the heat rising in his cheeks again.

"You're looking a bit flushed yourself Riku," Kairi turned her attention to the older boy. "A…'prominent sunburn' did you call it? You two need to invest in some sunscreen."

Riku raised his hands, palm out, "give me a break Kairi. You're not exactly helping the situation."

"Am I not?" she smiled.

Sora ruffled his hair, the unruly brown spikes producing a shower of sand before settling back into place. He let out a breath and looked up at the darkening sky, changing the subject quickly. "It's getting late, maybe we should head home."

Kairi and Riku looked up as well, the sun had just touched the water in the distance and the sky had taken on a peach hue.

"Alright," Kairi straitened up, clasping her hands behind her back, still looking at the swirling colors on the horizon. "Since we have all the boats here," her gaze broke away and she turned to face the boys, "we can have a race! Waddya say? Last one back to shore buys lunch tomorrow?" Her smile widened, "that means you Sora."

"Actually…" Sora started hesitantly, his gaze falling. "Me and Riku left our stuff in the hut. We'll have to catch up to you later."

"Oh…" Kairi looked slightly taken aback, "okay…"

Sora nudged the sand with the toe of his shoe; "I'm really sorry Kairi."

Kairi shook her head, the smile returning to her face. "It's no big deal, we'll just have to do it next time! Don't worry about it."

Sora returned the smile, "you bet!"

"I'll see you guys later then!" Kairi backstepped, waving to the two before turning completely and jogging toward the dock.

"We didn't leave anything in the hut," Riku stated letting his hand fall when Kairi was out of sight.

Sora looked up at him, "why didn't you say anything?"

"You peaked my curiosity," Riku grinned, "I figured you wanted me to play along, hopefully for a good reason. Though, I don't know of anything you'd want to keep from Kairi."

"I-I need to show you something." Sora walked down the beach to where a small hut was nestled against a cliff face between two palm trees. It was where they had stored the raft supplies all those years ago, and there were still several scraps littered about the floor. A small reminder of how simple life had been before the heartless had showed up.

Riku followed Sora through the doorway, still a bit unsure about all the secrecy. Sora just wasn't the type to keep things from his friends. He had always seen the keybearer as a bit of an open book, a blessing and curse it seemed, but Sora was always honest. At least, that's what Riku had thought.

"Here it is," Sora went to his knees and moved several pieces of driftwood aside, revealing a slightly sunken bowl shape in the sand where two glass bottles were nestled. Riku recognized the paper that was neatly rolled within each.

"Okay…" Riku muttered, "uh…I've seen those already Sora. One's from Kairi and the other's from King Mickey."

Sora shook his head, "No, they're both from the King."

Riku went to his knees and leaned forward, suddenly more interested.

"He sent this one right after we got back," Sora pointed to the smaller of the two bottles. "You remember, he was letting us know everything was going well after we left."

Riku nodded, still not sure where this was going or when Sora was going to make his point.

"I got this one yesterday," he grabbed the other bottle and offered it to the older boy.

Riku just looked at it, his hand showing no hint of moving. He locked eyes with Sora, "you hid it?"

Sora's face flushed and his gaze fell.

Riku took the bottle, a slight scowl forming on his face as he popped the cork out and dumped the scroll into the sand. He unrolled the paper, sure enough; the King's seal was stamped at the bottom along with his signature. Riku's scowl only deepened as his eyes scanned over the flawless cursive writing. "Sora…why would you want to hide this?"

"I wasn't hiding it from you!" Sora waved his hands, eyes going wide.

"Who then?"

Sora looked at his hands again, tracing the seams of his gloves with one finger.

"Kairi?"

"I don't want her to get hurt Riku!" Sora looked up again, "and I know if she saw the letter…"

"…She'd want to help fight," Riku finished.

There was another reason too, neither of them said it, but neither of them needed to. It was obvious in the unspoken words that passed between them only through gaze. _She doesn't have the experience. She would get in the way, slow us down._

Riku looked down at the letter again.

_Dear Sora and Riku,_

_I'm sending this letter with the utmost urgency. I can't say much, I believe this is something the two of you need to hear in person. Just know that something is very wrong and the Keybearers are needed once again. Come to Disney castle as soon as possible and I'll tell you all I know._

_King Mickey_

Riku's gaze lifted to Sora, his brow furrowed, "something's wrong? What do you think he means by that?"

Sora shook his head, "I don't know…If it was just a few stray heartless, I think they'd be able to handle it on their own…I can't imagine the King would let it get bad."

"Well," Riku rolled the letter up and put it back in the bottle before passing it to Sora. He stood up, brushing the dirt off his knees. "There's only one way to find out. When do we leave?"

"You want to leave now?!" Sora replaced the bottles and looked up, shocked by his friend's eagerness.

"Why not? He said as soon as possible right? I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a little excitement," Riku grinned.

Sora stood up quickly, stumbling slightly in the loose sand. "Don't you think it'd be weird if we just…left?"

"You weren't going to tell Kairi anyway," Riku pointed out. "Besides, we probably won't be gone that long. We defeated Xemnas and Organization XIII, remember. We're stronger than we used to be."

Sora ran a hand through his hair, "I guess so…"

"Great!" Riku held out his hand as a dark blue light began to form around it. He closed it in a fist just as Way to the Dawn materialized from the light. He turned to Sora, "I'm gunna need your help."

Sora smiled, "right," he summoned the Kingdom Key and it appeared in a flash of gold light.

"Together?"

"Together!"

The two friends stood shoulder to shoulder, holding their keyblades at arms length in front of them. Two beams of light shot from the weapons' tips, one dark blue, the other luminous gold. The beams twisted around each other, eventually parting to form a doorway.

Riku started forward immediately, not noticing that Sora had hesitated, taking the time for one last look at the island. But what Sora saw when he turned around was anything but what he expected. A flash of brilliant red hair, a black coat stirred by the slight breeze and two black marks below luminous green eyes.

"Axel?" Sora couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

"Sora?" The brunette turned when he heard Riku's concerned call.

"Riku! Did you see-" he turned back quickly pointing at the spot, but there was nothing there.

"See what? Are you okay Sora?"

Sora looked around desperately, his eyes scanning the beach, rocky outcrops, even the tops of the palm trees. "It was…nothing," Sora turned back to his friend, the familiar smile plastered on his face. "Just the dark playing tricks I guess."

Riku looked skeptical, but nodded slowly anyway. "Right, let's go then!"

Standing side by side, the two Keybearers stepped through the doorway, leaving the peaceful life they had grown so fond of behind.

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A/N: I'll try to have the next chapter up asap. Can't make any promises though. Please R&R if you read the story and let me know what you think It does get better I swear


	2. Grim Realization

**I'm back dances With chapter 2! The main idea of the plot is sortof explained in this one. Hope you enjoy!  
After this chapter the views aren't just going to be Sora and Riku, I'll be bringing some other characters views in as well **

**Please R&R **

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"It's dark…Why is it so dark! Riku?" Sora was feeling around in front of him, arms out straight, fingers splayed. "Riku?" he hit something hard and pulled back quickly, stumbling slightly in his haste.

"Ouch! Sora what are you doing?" Riku felt around a moment before his hand closed on his friend's wrist. "Come on," he tugged Sora along behind him, keeping his path as straight as possible in the pitch black. His free arm was stretched out in front preventing them both from running into something.

"Riku? Did something go wrong with the portal? This can't be the Castle…"

Riku shook his head before realizing Sora couldn't see the gesture. "I think we're just in another part of the castle, one that isn't used." His hand hit something hard and smooth, running his palm over the object revealed it to be spherical…possibly egg-shaped.

Sora realized they had stopped, "what is it Riku? Did you find something? Like a light switch maybe?"

Riku rolled his eyes, "yes Sora, I found a light switch, that's why it's still pitch black in here."

Sora moved forward and pressed his hand to the object. The room was suddenly illuminated as a blinding light filled the sphere, small lights were spiraling around the core of it, making the room seem to flicker and move.

Riku rubbed his eyes vigorously, the sudden return of light had been unexpected and, though not unwelcome, it had been quite a shock after being in the pitch dark.

"Guess that solves our problem," Sora turned, beaming.

"What did you do?" Riku asked, blinking rapidly to disperse the spots that danced in front of his vision.

Sora turned back to the sphere, "I don't know…just touched it," he looked at his hands quizzically. The light had dimmed slightly now so he could look at it without hurting his eyes. "Must have just been luck," he grinned scuffing his foot on the marble floor.

Riku scowled, "ya, maybe." His expression softened, "it looks like I was right about us being in the basement," he looked around. The room was circular, the walls a fair distance from where they were standing, in the center of the room. The ceiling stretched high above them, reaching out of the light's range and vanishing into darkness. The only way out seemed to be a door on the wall to their left. The door and the sphere were the only things that occupied the space; the room was void of anything else.

"Well now that we can see," Sora moved forward, trying to forget the momentary lapse in Riku's expression. He headed toward the door, "let's not waste anymore time." Riku nodded and followed.

The door opened easily enough, it was rather large, and much heavier than it looked, but the two friends together had no trouble working it open. There was a narrow stairway beyond that looked much more inviting than the room they were currently in. Probably helped by the fact there was a light coming from the top, faint though it was.

Sora led the way up, the passage was too narrow for them to walk shoulder to shoulder so they simply fell into line as they ascended.

"Wow…we were…pretty far down there," Sora panted when they came out into a brightly-lit hallway. Sunlight shone through the windows that were evenly spaced along the wall, making the white stone gleam majestically.

Riku stretched his arms above his head, not in the least bit winded by the climb. "I thought you said the last few months hadn't affected you," Riku grinned.

Sora straightened up immediately, his expression stubbornly set. "Let's go, we have to find Mickey and find out what's wrong. The sooner we find out the sooner we can fix the problem and go home." Sora started off in the direction which he _hoped_ led to the throne room. He had barely taken his first step when a familiar voice stopped him.

"Sora!"

He turned around only to be engulfed in a hug. "D-Donald?"

"We were waiting for you! Thank goodness you came!" Donald quacked excitedly.

"Of course we did," Sora pulled out of the hug, laughing happily at being reunited with his friend. "So what's wrong?"

Donald looked from Sora to Riku then back. "The King wants to tell you himself. This way," Donald started off in the direction opposite the one Sora had been going.

Riku raised a brow at his friend, smirking with satisfaction. Sora only rolled his eyes and followed Donald down the hall.

Several twists and turns later they arrived at a small room. There was no door blocking the contents which consisted only of several chairs and side tables. There was a large window taking up the complete far wall, making the room seem bright and welcoming.

Mickey stood at the window, looking out at the greenery of the castle garden, but quickly turned when he heard them enter. He smiled when he saw who it was, "Sora, Riku! I'm so glad you came. I hope getting here wasn't too much trouble?"

"No way, Sora and me have a knack for getting around. Right Sora?"

Sora nodded, grinning happily, "you bet!"

Mickey's expression turned a bit more somber, "however, I bet you'd like to know why I asked you to come in the first place…"

The two friends leaned forward expectantly as Donald silently left the room.

"We want to help in anyway we can," Riku added in, "it's the least we can do after you helped us." He was; of course, referring to the time he had spent battling the darkness within himself. Mickey had been his support in that time, a firm hold on the light and he hadn't forgotten his friendship with the mouse.

Mickey nodded, "you both remember the events that took place seven months ago. Organization XIII and its leader, Xemnas were defeated thanks to you two. Xemnas was destroyed before he could open Kingdom Hearts…at least…that's what I had believed."

A shadow seemed to fall over the room and Riku and Sora sat down in two vacant chairs sending confused looks at each other, then at Mickey.

"Xemnas has returned," he continued, "I don't know how. I'm assuming it had something to do with him being so close to Kingdom Hearts when he faded. It's a strange thing…and not even I can explain it's potential."

"He's what?!" the initial shock had subsided and Sora had found his voice. "But, me…and Riku," he looked toward his friend who was sitting silently, brow furrowed. "We saw him fade…we _caused_ him to fade!"

"Relax Sora, let him finish," Riku mumbled, looking back to Mickey. "What's he going to do without the Organization behind him. Just one Nobody can't be that much of a concern…"

Mickey looked sullen, his ears drooping slightly. "Xemnas himself is only a fraction of our worries. He's gathered a new Organization, the Alter Organization, comprised of Incompletes, people who have only a partial heart. As far as I know he has only managed to get six, including himself."

"Well then it can't be that bad," Sora started in, " if these, 'Incompletes' have partial hearts…then won't they be less dangerous than the Nobodies were? Not to mention their numbers are a lot lower than the last Organization."

"On the contrary Sora, having a partial heart only serves to strengthen them. They can feel, something the Nobodies couldn't do, but it's not as strong as someone with a complete heart could manage. They can yearn for their goal, want it with passion, whereas the Nobodies were simply going off of instinct and memories of the feelings they once had."

"So you're saying these enemies are more dangerous, because they can strive for their goal? What is it they want?"

Mickey's gaze drifted to the window, "I'm not sure exactly. Xemnas I believe wants to open Kingdom Hearts and revive Organization XIII. The Alter Organization wants to complete their hearts and become whole."

"So basically," Sora's gaze fell, "history is repeating itself…"

"Just how dangerous are these Incompletes," Riku cut in, "are they different from the Nobodies?"

Mickey shook his head, "not as much as you would think. They can control things much like the Nobodies could, and some have abilities in place of that. They can travel through doors of darkness and can make them at will. Xemnas seems to have recycled the castle in the World that Never Was and has made that their base."

"Well that's good," Riku leaned back in his chair, "that means we'll know the territory."

Mickey nodded, "yes, I've been informed that they're also moving through the other worlds, although just what they're doing is unclear. There has been an increase in heartless, but collecting hearts seems to be the last thing on their minds. They simply seem to have released the heartless to cause havoc."

"So the other worlds are in trouble too?" Sora felt his shoulders fall.

Mickey sighed and stood up, walking over to a small cube on one of the tables. He picked it up and held it in front of him. Instantly, there was a life-size projection of an organization member, hood up, standing before them. "This was the uniform of the previous Organization," Mickey stated, "and this," another projection appeared beside the first, "is what the Alter Organization's uniform looks like."

All in all the two were very close in appearance. However, on closer glance the detailed differences could be seen. Whereas the first coat was simply black and rather plain, the second had an intricate ribbed design around the waist area. The sleeves had a spiked lime green design around the cuff, repeating around the hem of the hood. The beaded chain around the neck had been removed, leaving only the silver pull strings for accent.

"This is just one of the member's design," Mickey replaced the cube as the projections faded. "The appearance will differ depending on the member, different colors or stitching. This is, however, an effective way to tell them apart."

Riku ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. It was a lot to take in over the course of a few minutes. "Have you battled any of them yet?" he finally asked.

"One, although I couldn't see his face, his hood was up throughout the battle. That's how I knew his coat design," Mickey motioned to the cube. "I failed to defeat him and he fled before I could get any further information."

"Well…we should get going then!" Sora stood up, a determined look on his face. "The sooner we start, the sooner we're done right?" He turned to Riku who stood up a bit more slowly.

"I'm sorry for calling you here," Mickey said, "I didn't know where else to turn."

"We'll take care of it," Riku replied turning to Sora, "we should start in the World that Never Was. If that's their base, there's bound to be at least a few members there."

"Right," they headed out the door, Mickey close behind.

"You can make a portal in the throne room," Mickey stated, moving to walk beside the friends.

Riku nodded and the three moved down the hall toward the large double doors. Mickey pushed through first followed by Sora with Riku coming last.

Sora was the first to notice the figure on the throne. Feet thrown casually over one arm, elbow leaning on the opposite one, they looked completely at ease.

"Axel?" Sora took a step forward; Riku and the King looked at him skeptically.

The figure shifted, eyes opening as he looked up and grinned when he saw who stood in the doorway. "Axel? Can't say I know him," he swung his legs over the arm of the throne so he was sitting properly. He leaned back casually, his gaze never leaving the three in the doorway. "But you I do know," he stood up and took a step forward, the lime green designs on his sleeves coming into sight, "Sora."

Riku held out his hand and summoned Way to the Dawn, moving forward a few steps. Sora followed the example, summoning his own Keyblade and getting into a defensive stance.

The stranger raised a brow. "So that's how it's gunna be? Fine…but if you didn't want me here," he held out his hands and two curved blades appeared in them. A green liquid dripped from them and sizzled when it hit the floor, "you should have watched your portal a little better." He started down the throne steps, stopping when he reached the floor. He raised one of the blades and held it at arms length, leveled at Sora.

"I'm Rael, and this is the hour of your death."


End file.
